San Francisco Giants' Tim Lincecum pitches strongly again in shutout win over St. Louis Cardinals

SAN FRANCISCO -- There was no celebration on the mound, not an overflowing Powerade bucket in sight. Tim Lincecum wasn't headed for a podium after an electrifying 5-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals and his highlight reel won't be the top story on "SportsCenter."

But other than that, Lincecum's start Tuesday was very much like the previous one.

The right-hander once again carried a fantastic rhythm through the night, throwing eight shutout innings in his first appearance since no-hitting the San Diego Padres and giving up just four hits. Just like in the no-hitter, he threw 113 pitches, 73 of which were strikes. Lincecum has thrown 17 consecutive scoreless innings and has back-to-back outings of at least eight scoreless innings for the first time in his career and helped the Giants move back into first place, by a half-game over the Dodgers, in the National League West.

"I don't think there was a big difference between the two games," manager Bruce Bochy said. "He kept the ball down, threw quality strikes all night -- gave us a great effort. If you look at them, it's hard to find a big difference."

This one won't result in a package being sent to Cooperstown, but for Lincecum, it might have in a strange way been more impressive than the no-hitter. Whether in the 2102 postseason or his no-hitter last July, Lincecum still shows flashes of the ability that made him a two-time Cy Young Award winner. But he has struggled mightily to find any semblance of consistency.

In the start following his 2013 no-hitter, Lincecum gave up eight runs in 3﻿2/3 innings. On Tuesday, the Cardinals looked just as hapless as the Padres.

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"I was just hoping to put up something like that," Lincecum said. "Things weren't crazy nasty or anything like that, or 93-94 mph. But I was trying to hit my spots. It felt very similar (to the no-hitter). I try to go out there and duplicate (that feeling) when things are going good."

Lincecum's brightest moment came in the fourth, when two broken-bat singles and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with no outs. But he struck out Allen Craig and Jon Jay with sliders and got Daniel Descalso to ground out, keeping the game scoreless.

"No question, that's the turning point of the game," Bochy said. "It kept us from getting down and having an uphill climb. He really bowed his neck."

A slumping lineup returned the favor. The Giants scored only six runs during a four-game sweep at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds, but got halfway to that total in the bottom of the fourth against rookie left-hander Marco Gonzales.

Hunter Pence kicked things off with a single and raced home on Buster Posey's double just inside the left-field line. Pablo Sandoval followed with a towering homer to left field, the 10th of his season and 100th of his career. All of a sudden, the Giants of July felt like the first-place Giants of April and May. Pence said Lincecum's ability to get out of the top of the fourth turned the tide.

"That's a tough spot," he said. "For him to get out of it, it gets you fired up."

The Giants followed Lincecum's no-hitter with four straight demoralizing losses. They're hoping the doppelganger sets them straight.

"It doesn't matter how long you've been in this game, it's always good to stop those tough streaks," Bochy said. "It does so much for their confidence."

First baseman Brandon Belt (broken left thumb) had a double in his fourth at-bat for the Fresno Grizzlies. If all goes well Wednesday, Belt will join the Giants in San Diego on Friday.